THE SCREECH OWL. 357 



the birds during incubation. Four or five eggs are usually laid to a set, and 

 occasionally six, and even seven are sometimes found, but the latter number 

 is rare. Mr. Oliver Davie, in his "Nests and Eggs of North American Birds, 

 1889," page 196, states that they frequently lay eight, rarely nine, and says 

 that in April, 1885, a farmer brought him nine young, with the parent birds, 

 which he had taken from a hollow tree. The largest set I have any knowl- 

 edge of, or have been able to fully verify, is one of seven. These eggs 

 were slightly incubated when found and were taken by Mr. W. E. D. Scott, 

 near New Brunswick, New Jersey, April 11, 1879. 



Mr. Lynds Jones writes me: "Both parents are generally found near the 

 nest, and not infrequently sitting on the eggs at the same time. In a number 

 of instances I have taken the two from well incubated eggs, but have never 

 flushed both from a fresh set. Between the interval when the first egg is laid 

 and the set is completed, the male may be found in a hollow tree near by and 

 cannot be flushed, while the female watches the nest and flushes easily. 

 When incubation begins the male will flush readily for a time, the female, 

 however, remaining. Later, both birds must be dislodged by force. If the 

 cavity is large enough to admit of it, both birds will lie over the eggs; if, how- 

 ever, it be small, the female covers the eggs and the male either wedges himself 

 down by her side or lies on top of her, and sometimes finds a lodgment some- 

 where higher up in the hole, which, however, is rarely the case." 



When suddenly disturbed in their hole they frequently utter a hissing 

 noise and snap their mandibles together, producing a kind of rattling sound. 

 In disposition these birds are rather unsociable, seldom more than a pair being 

 seen together at any time, except when still caring for their young in the sum- 

 mer and early fall. 



Incubation lasts about three weeks, or perhaps a few days longer. The 

 young, according to Mr. Lynds Jones, are blind when first hatched, and soon 

 develop an astonishing appetite, keeping both parents busy to provide the 

 needed food for the rapidly growing family. The foraging is done almost 

 entirely after sundown and throughout the night, and a supply of food to last 

 during the day is usually stored away in their nesting site. Their flight is 

 noiseless and easy, enabling them to drop down silently and quietly on their 

 unsuspecting victims. 



Though small, the Screech Owl does not lack courage, and will frequently 

 attack animals much larger and heavier than itself, and has been known to kill 

 large rats. 



Mr. J. L. Davidson publishes the following remarkable incident in Forest 

 and Stream of March 19, 1885: 



"Lockport, New York, February 26. 



"On Saturday last I received a box containing a live Screech Owl (Scops 

 asio), from a young farmer friend, and on Tuesday received the following let- 

 ter from him: 



